Statutory Holidays in Canada

Public holidays in Canada are set at the national level countrywide as well as by each of the 10 provinces and three territories. Public holidays in Canada known as "statutory holidays," "stats" or "stat holidays" are legislated at the national, provincial and territorial levels. Many of these holidays are observed nationwide, but each province and territory has its own holidays as well.

Nationwide statutory holidays in Canada

New Year's Day - January 1, Wednesday

Good Friday - April 18, Friday

Canada Day - July 1, Tuesday

Labour Day - September 1, Monday

Christmas Day - December 25, Thursday

Statutory holidays for federal employees

In addition to the nationwide holidays listed above, the following holidays are mandated by federal legislation for federally regulated employees.
All banks commemorate these holidays, and they are statutory in some provinces and territories.

Easter Monday - April 21, Monday

Victoria Day - May 19, Monday

Thanksgiving - October 13, Monday

Remembrance Day - November 11, Tuesday

Boxing Day - December 26, Friday

Other common statutory holidays

Family Day, August Civic Holiday

May Long Weekend in 2014

May Long Weekend comes with the Victoria Day holidays.
In 2014, Victoria Day comes on May 19.
So the May Long Weekend falls on 17,18 and 19 May.

August Civic Holiday in 2014

Civic Holiday is a generic name referring to the annual holiday on the first Monday of August.
This holiday is commonly referred to as "August Long Weekend"
In 2014, August Civic Holiday comes on August 4th.
So the August Long Weekend comes on 2, 3 and 4 August.

* When a holiday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, it may be applied to the next business day.

2014 Canadian Holidays List

Month

Date

Week Day

Holiday

Applies To

January

1

Wednesday

New Years Day

Nationwide

February

10

Monday

Family Day

British Columbia

February

17

Monday

Family Day

Alberta, Ontario and Saskatchewan

Islander Day

Prince Edward Island

Louis Riel Day

Manitoba

February

21

Friday

Heritage Day

Yukon

April

18

Friday

Good Friday

Nationwide

April

21

Monday

Easter Monday

Nationwide (Federal Statutory)

May

19

Monday

Victoria Day

Nationwide (Federal Statutory)

June

21

Saturday

National Aboriginal Day

Northwest Territories

June

24

Tuesday

St. Jean Baptiste Day

Quebec

July

1

Tuesday

Canada Day

Nationwide

July

9

Wednesday

Nunavut Day

Nunavut

August

4

Monday

Civic Holiday

BC, SK, MB, ON, NB, NU

August

18

Monday

Discovery Day

Yukon

September

1

Monday

Labour Day

Nationwide

October

13

Monday

Thanksgiving Day

Nationwide (Federal Statutory)

November

11

Tuesday

Remembrance Day

Nationwide (Federal Statutory)

December

25

Thursday

Christmas Day

Nationwide

December

26

Friday

Boxing Day

Nationwide (Federal Statutory)

2014 Provincial Holidays in Canada

The common national statutory holidays are as below :

National Statutory holidays : New Years Day - January 1 | Good Friday - April 18 | Canada Day - July 1 | Labour Day - September 1 | Christmas Day - December 25

Here is the list of provincial and territorial statutory holidays for 2014 :

Holidays in Canada

New Year's Day is the first day of the new year. On the modern Gregorian calendar, it is celebrated on January 1.
Almost all countries use the Gregorian calendar as their main calendar.

Family Day

In most of Canada, Family Day is a statutory holiday occurring on the third Monday in February. In the provinces of Manitoba and Prince Edward Island, the statutory holiday on this date is instead termed Louis Riel Day and Islander Day, respectively. This holiday celebrates the importance of families and family life to people and their communities.

Good Friday

Good Friday, also known as Holy Friday, Black Friday, Great Friday, is a religious holiday observed primarily by Christians commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and his death at Calvary. The holiday is observed during Holy Week as part of the Paschal Triduum on the Friday preceding Easter Sunday.

Easter Monday

Easter Monday is the day after Easter Sunday and is celebrated as a holiday in some largely Christian cultures, especially Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox cultures. Easter Monday in the Roman Catholic liturgical calendar is the second day of the octave of Easter Week.

Victoria Day

Victoria Day is a federal Canadian statutory holiday celebrated on the first Monday on or before May 24, in honour of both Queen Victoria's birthday and the current reigning Canadian sovereign's official birthday.
Victoria Day is always on a Monday, and thus the holiday is part of a long weekend, which is commonly referred to as the Victoria Day Weekend, the May Long Weekend, the May Long, or the May Two-Four (a case of beer there is called a "two-four" and many of these are consumed over the holiday). The weekend is also called the May 24th weekend, although it does not necessarily fall on May 24th.

Canada Day

Canada Day , formerly Dominion Day , is Canada's national day, a federal statutory holiday celebrating the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the British North America Act (today called the Constitution Act, 1867), which united two British colonies and a province of the British Empire into a single country, still within the Empire, called Canada. Canada Day observances take place throughout Canada as well as internationally.

August Civic Holiday

Civic Holiday is the most widely used name for a public holiday celebrated in parts of Canada on the first Monday in August. The holiday is known by a variety of names in different provinces and municipalities, including British Columbia Day in British Columbia, New Brunswick Day in New Brunswick, and Saskatchewan Day in Saskatchewan.

Labour Day

Labour Day or Labor Day is an annual holiday to celebrate the economic and social achievements of workers. Labour Day has been celebrated on the first Monday in September in Canada since the 1880s.

Thanksgiving Day

In Canada Thanksgiving occurs on the second Monday in October and is an annual Canadian holiday to give thanks at the close of the harvest season.
On January 31, 1957, the Canadian Parliament proclaimed:
“ A Day of General Thanksgiving to Almighty God for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed … to be observed on the 2nd Monday in October.":

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day – also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day (the event it commemorates) or Veterans Day – is a Commonwealth holiday to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War. It is observed on 11 November to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918 .

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is a holiday observed mostly on December 25 to commemorate the birth of Jesus.

Boxing Day

Boxing Day is a bank and public holiday commonly occurring on 26 December.
In Canada Boxing Day is primarily known as a shopping holiday. Canada's Boxing Day has often been compared with the American Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving.